We had a great trip at Puerto Vallarta, with just 8 guys fishing on the 70' Apollo. The daytime fishing was very spotty with just a few fish caught running and gunning on the slide with live caballitos. I got a couple of small fish on the popper, but we only had three or four shots at them within casting range for the whole trip. We caught maybe a half-dozen fish total on the kite and balloons. There were a pair of seiners working the area so the fish were a little bit squirrelly and boat-shy. We lost one day to bad weather where we had to anchor up on El Banco because it was too rough to drift. I came up out of my bunk one time and it looked like we were in a giant washing machine with 30 kt. wind and seas going in every direction so I went back to bed for the rest of the day because I was afraid that I would get sick if I stayed on deck, but otherwise we had very fishable weather.
The night-time fishing was a different story. I would guess that we had at least twenty fish over 100 lbs for the two nights of good fishing, both on squid and jigs (about 50/50). I had five over 100 including a 160 and a 220. I was on the bigger fish for two hours on 130 lb with 35 lbs. of drag once it settled down, and bumped it up to 42 lbs at the end. The fish dragged me around the boat more than a dozen times (I mean it literally dragged me because I couldn't get the rod off of the rail). I was using my Calstar GF755XXH with my 23 year-old old Cal's Penn 50SW full of 150 braid with a 130 lb. wind-on. The short rod was great for pulling but I had several really close calls in the corners when the fish was doing big circles near the end. I felt the line touch the boat twice even though I had my arms stretched out as far as I could go with the heavy drag, and I thought it was all over both times, but I got away with it. I will not be using a short stick on a big sportboat again.
I am waiting to get some good photos from the rest of the guys as I did not bring a camera, but here's the one shot that someone sent to me of my best fish of the trip. It taped out at 74" long to the fork, but was pretty slender so it only went 220. It had a set of amazing sickle fins. I am on the left with the beard and the rod.
If anyone wants any info on the Apollo Puerto Vallarta program, please let me know.
Randy
WOW Randy, looks like you guys had a ball. Its a blast catching those hundred pounders on jigs huh!!!!
Nice work, .. Lou
NICE FISH!!!!
congratulations!!!!!!! now get back to work! ;D
Awesome, great job!
Nice work Randy!
30K not winds are no joke, and are uncomfortable at the least, on these larger vessels.
Way to get it done!
Lots of sushi! :o
Great report Randy!
Nice catch Randy!
Love the shirt as well...;)
Chad
Nice fish Randy, I'm glad you had a great trip. How's your shoulder., from the pic looks like you're still standing straight, must not be too bad ;D.
Great job and good advice on the longer rod.
Sal
Well done Randy. Dominick
Nicely done. Looks like it was a great trip.
Good Job Randy!
Glad you had fun Randy!
Quote from: STRIPER LOU on February 02, 2016, 11:35:37 PM
WOW Randy, looks like you guys had a ball. Its a blast catching those hundred pounders on jigs huh!!!!
Nice work, .. Lou
Thanks Lou. You're right about fishing the jig. You keep dropping it down and cranking it back up as fast as you can, and after doing that a few dozen times, you go on autopilot and start daydreaming and then the handle just stops and for a second you can't figure out what's going on, and then the line starts peeling off of the reel and you remember what you were doing and the adrenalin starts pumping.
Quote from: alantani on February 03, 2016, 12:01:46 AM
congratulations!!!!!!! now get back to work! ;D
Thank you Chief! I am on the job as we speak.
Quote from: Tightlines666 on February 03, 2016, 12:17:42 AM
Nice work Randy!
30K not winds are no joke, and are uncomfortable at the least, on these larger vessels.
Way to get it done!
Thank you John. I know that you've seen a lot of giant ahi, but this one was my best so far and I still find myself reliving every moment.
Quote from: steelhead_killer on February 03, 2016, 12:29:22 AM
Lots of sushi! :o
Andy, I don't know how to do sushi, but the freezer is full of some prime vacuum-packed belly meat from a few of the fatter fish. If you give me a day's notice when you are coming down the coast, we can do an all you can eat sashimi feast. The crew on the Apollo take great care of the fish. They are spiked, bled and into the RSW hold within five minutes of hitting the deck (gently).
Quote from: David Hall on February 03, 2016, 12:46:29 AM
Nicely done. Looks like it was a great trip.
Thank you! We had a really good time, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Apollo to anyone who is interested in fishing with a great captain and crew on a roomy, stable fishing platform, and can live without fancy food and staterooms for a few days.
Quote from: cbar45 on February 03, 2016, 12:31:54 AM
Nice catch Randy!
Love the shirt as well...;)
Chad
Thank you Chad. That's my Tokunaga Tackle shirt. It has been pōmaika'i for me and I always try to remember to bring it fishing. Do you live in Hilo?
Randy
Quote from: Alto Mare on February 03, 2016, 12:42:28 AM
Nice fish Randy, I'm glad you had a great trip. How's your shoulder., from the pic looks like you're still standing straight, must not be too bad ;D.
Great job and good advice on the longer rod.
Sal
Thank you Sal. My shoulder is fine, but my armpit still hurts like hell because I got too far back on the rod a few times and put all of my weight onto the sharp gimbal butt. I didn't feel a thing while I was hooked up, but I sure did the next morning!
Randy
Quote from: David Hall on February 03, 2016, 12:46:29 AM
Nicely done. Looks like it was a great trip.
Thank you David.
Randy
Quote from: Cortez_Conversions on February 03, 2016, 01:05:58 AM
Glad you had fun Randy!
Thanks Tom. It was a blast.
I ordered your two frames today and I plan to pick them up next week. Can you wait that long? If that's a problem, I can have them ship them to me tomorrow.
Thanks again,
Randy
Quote from: Vintage Offshore Tackle on February 03, 2016, 03:53:34 AM
Quote from: steelhead_killer on February 03, 2016, 12:29:22 AM
Lots of sushi! :o
They are spiked, bled and into the RSW hold within five minutes of hitting the deck (gently).
Wish they all did it this way!
steve
Quote from: Vintage Offshore Tackle on February 03, 2016, 04:11:53 AM
Quote from: cbar45 on February 03, 2016, 12:31:54 AM
Nice catch Randy!
Love the shirt as well...;)
Chad
Thank you Chad. That's my Tokunaga Tackle shirt. It has been pōmaika'i for me and I always try to remember to bring it fishing. Do you live in Hilo?
Randy
Randy,
Hilo is my hometown where I grew up.
I knew that shirt looked familiar..:)
Have you been to their new store over on Manono St?
It's 3x the size of the old one.
Chad
Looks like you had a great trip, nice fish Randy!
Sounds like a trip of a lifetime! Congrats on your catches as well as filling up the freezer!
Randy: Nice catch! :o
Joe
Great report and that's some fish!
Mike
Well done, Randy! Nice fish!
Sid
Way to go, Randy... couldn't have happened to a better guy!
I bet it tastes even better than it looks. ;)
Good for you, stay fishy
Dom
Quote from: cbar45 on February 03, 2016, 08:18:44 AM
Quote from: Vintage Offshore Tackle on February 03, 2016, 04:11:53 AM
Quote from: cbar45 on February 03, 2016, 12:31:54 AM
Nice catch Randy!
Love the shirt as well...;)
Chad
Thank you Chad. That's my Tokunaga Tackle shirt. It has been pōmaika'i for me and I always try to remember to bring it fishing. Do you live in Hilo?
Randy
Randy,
Hilo is my hometown where I grew up.
I knew that shirt looked familiar..:)
Have you been to their new store over on Manono St?
It's 3x the size of the old one.
Chad
Chad, what a great place to grow up. I did see the new Tokunaga store when I was in Hilo the summer before last. I have done a lot of travelling and I always try to stop in every tackle store that I pass to see if they have any old treasures that they might be willing to part with, and the new Tokunaga store is my favorite. I met Michael and his crew three years ago when they gave me a table at their weigh-in headquarters for the ulua tournament and they made me feel welcome and I cannot say enough about what a great job they do.
I love Hilo because I feel like I am really in Hawaii, not Disneyland like most of the resort areas. It's too bad that there is so much wind on the Hilo side because I would love to fish there, but I do not do well in rough weather so when I come, I fish on the Kona side with Kevin Nakamaru, who is an amazing fisherman.
Where do you live now?
Randy
Quote from: broadway on February 03, 2016, 05:03:48 PM
Way to go, Randy... couldn't have happened to a better guy!
I bet it tastes even better than it looks. ;)
Good for you, stay fishy
Dom
Thank you Dom, Mike, Sid, Dan, Joe and Yogi. If you come visit me, you can have all of the sashimi that you can eat!
Randy
Hi Randy,
Look and sounds like you had a blast with room to fish.
I'll be over for sashimi then Italian food in Pismo very soon.
Now get back to work...life is not all play. lol
Bryan
Quote from: Bryan Young on February 04, 2016, 01:31:39 AM
Hi Randy,
Look and sounds like you had a blast with room to fish.
I'll be over for sashimi then Italian food in Pismo very soon.
Now get back to work...life is not all play. lol
Bryan
You have a deal Bryan. Let me know as soon as you figure out when you are going to be in town.
Thanks,
Randy
Glad you had such a great trip Randy!!!
Sounds like an amazing time.
-Scott
Great Job Randy and I bet you had a bunch of adrenaline pumping when that drag started screaming.
Thank you Scott and Dwight. The adrenaline was definitely pumping for the whole two hours, thinking of every possible way that I could lose that fish!
Randy
congrats Randy. sounds awesome. i have to remember to plan one of these in my life. will get in touch when that happens. much aloha.
\mn/
Brian
that a great Pic and sounds like a great trip